Nicotine has a number of psychoactive effects on the human body such as producing an enhanced sense of well-being and relaxation and reducing anxiety and appetite. The intake of nicotine differs significantly between users of smokeless tobacco products and cigarette smokers. For example, the amount of nicotine absorption from a typical smokeless tobacco product can be four times or more than the amount absorbed from smoking a cigarette. Also, nicotine is absorbed more slowly from use of smokeless tobacco products, resulting in venous plasma levels that plateau during and even after use of the product. While cigarette smokers experience similar peak venous plasma levels as those of smokeless tobacco users, the venous plasma levels fall rapidly after smoking. See Benowitz, “Nicotine and Smokeless Tobacco,” CA-A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 244-247 (1998).
Existing nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products generally are designed to mimic nicotine levels achieved through cigarette smoking. As a result, dosing of NRT products tends to be difficult for smokeless tobacco users. See American Cancer Society, “Guide to Quitting Smokeless Tobacco,” (2014). Due to the different nicotine plasma profiles associated with the use of smokeless tobacco products, as well as the failure to address other (non-nicotine) factors contributing to smokeless tobacco addiction including the anti-depressive effects of tobacco, existing NRT products to date have been largely unsuccessful in the treatment of smokeless tobacco addiction.